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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26802703">surface level thoughts</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/alainey/pseuds/alainey'>alainey</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hades (Video Game 2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Post-Credits</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 07:55:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,803</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26802703</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/alainey/pseuds/alainey</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>By the time Thanatos catches up with him, he's already at the surface. </p>
<p>Zagreus hears the bell toll just as his father finishes sinking into the River Styx, and he looks up to find Thanatos hovering beside him, blinking away the quiet moonlight of Greece.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Thanatos/Zagreus (Hades Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>277</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>surface level thoughts</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>By the time Thanatos catches up with him, he's already at the surface.</p>
<p>Zagreus hears the bell toll just as his father finishes sinking into the River Styx, and he looks up to find Thanatos hovering beside him, blinking away the quiet moonlight of Greece.</p>
<p>"It seems you were not in need of my assistance," Thanatos murmurs, as soon as Zagreus turns to him, and he stares out over the clearing where Zagreus and his father just fought. There are scorch marks cleaved into the pillars, rumble cast heavy across the snow, and Zagreus dismisses Stygius with a careful wave of his hand.</p>
<p>"Not this time," Zagreus agrees, and Thanatos sighs, releasing a breath out into the open air.</p>
<p>"You've become quite strong," he says simply, and Zagreus just shrugs.</p>
<p>"I suppose I have," he replies, flashing the other man a lopsided grin, "but I think I would have appreciated your assistance down there, either way."</p>
<p>Thanatos inclines his head but doesn't say anything further: simply leaning forward and brushing his fingers over the scattered scratches and bruises that litter Zagreus's face. There are similar marks along his arms and legs—nothing major—yet Thanatos still frowns, his displeasure clear.</p>
<p>"I would have come sooner, had I been able," Thanatos says, and Zagreus shrugs again. Waves away his words. "Are you sure you're alright?"</p>
<p>"My father fared much worse than I," Zagreus replies, easily, and Thanatos shakes his head—his hand falling from Zagreus's cheek a couple moments later.</p>
<p>"Alright," he replies, mollified, "alright."</p>
<p>Before he can disappear, Zagreus grabs his hand—warm fingers pressing against the curve of Thanatos's wrist—and Thanatos stops his teleportation with a curious blink, eyes uncertain.</p>
<p>"Do you have time right now?" Zagreus asks, and Thanatos looks down at him a moment longer, his eyes dark, before sighing once more. It's a lighter sigh this time, less worried than wry, and Zagreus grins.</p>
<p>"I never have time, Zag," he replies, his voice dry. "But you know that I'll find some for you, anyway."</p>
<p>Zagreus's smile grows, and Thanatos graces him with a small one in return—thin and fond and quiet.</p>
<p>"Then stay with me," Zagreus says, "just for a bit," and Thanatos murmurs:</p>
<p>"Alright."</p>
<p>Zagreus takes a moment to clear the room of his rewards (some additional titan blood and a handful of scattered gemstones) and of fish (a sturgeon, which Thanatos watches him catch with a confused—yet curious—grimace). Thanatos raises an eyebrow as Zagreus tucks away his fish, but doesn't ask any questions as Zagreus takes his hand again and leads them from the clearing. Zagreus's feet burn footprints into the snow while Thanatos drifts along behind him, and they travel in silence, moonlight soft against their skin.</p>
<p>Zagreus takes them down a familiar path, stopping only once to watch the sun rise over the horizon. The world, cold and dark not moments prior, is ever predictable in its habits: lighting up in a bright, orange glow that Thanatos squints at, and Zagreus stands next to him, catching his hand and laughing at his face.</p>
<p>"My first few escapes, I would stop here each time just to watch it rise," Zagreus says, gesturing out towards the sun. "It was like nothing I'd ever seen before."</p>
<p>"It's certainly something," Thanatos admits, and Zagreus squeezes his hand again. Warm sunlight floods the deathly pallor of Thanatos's face, and Zagreus stands there, watching him, his heart in his throat (and he's happy, so happy, that life has led him here).</p>
<p>They continue onward a moment later, Zagreus pulling them even deeper into the forest, and Zagreus is delighted to find that no unfortunate accidents befall him this time around. It's been a long time since he'd last attempted to return to his mother's cottage—always thwarted in his attempts to make it there before he falls to some untimely (and, often senseless) death—and he finds himself grateful, if only because he doesn't want to die in some terribly gruesome manner, right here in front of Thanatos. They make it to the cottage not long after the sun has risen, and the ground beneath their feet grows lush with life after every new step.</p>
<p>"This is... your mother's old home," Thanatos says quietly, as they begin to approach the cottage itself. "I see. I was unsure where you might be taking me, but I'm not surprised to find that you were leading me here."</p>
<p>His gaze flicks upward, towards the bright blue sky and the slowly burning sun, and Zagreus hides a smile, pulling him towards the shade of the orchard trees.</p>
<p>"This is where I would meet her, each time I escaped," Zagreus says, and Thanatos casts a slow look around the garden. "Up until she returned to the underworld, that is. Erm, wait—give me a moment."</p>
<p>Zagreus turns, taking some time to move his mother's small garden table and chairs over to them both. He doubts his mother will mind a small change in furniture placement, and he resolves to pick her some flowers (and, perhaps, move the furniture back) before he leaves.</p>
<p>"There we go," Zagreus finally says, pleased with his work. "Sit with me?"</p>
<p>Thanatos looks down at the table and chairs for a slow second, eyes amused, before sitting down carefully in the chair provided—his dark robes settling against the wrought-iron metal of the seat.</p>
<p>"Thank you," Thanatos says, quietly, and Zagreus sits, too.</p>
<p>"What do you think, then?" Zagreus asks, watching as Thanatos turns to look across the garden and out over the sea. His gaze is unguarded, and he speaks a moment later, voice even.</p>
<p>"It's very bright here," he replies, absent, "even brighter than the rest of the world. But it's still beautiful—colorful and warm. And I find it comforting, even if I know that it isn't the place for me."</p>
<p>Thanatos turns back to him, face soft, and Zagreus leans forward, catching his face in his hands. Their kiss is quiet and sweet, chaste amongst the flowers of a garden in stasis, and Zagreus is grinning again as he pulls back—spotted sunlight from the trees above dancing across Thanatos's face.</p>
<p>"I agree," Zagreus replies. "It isn't the place for me, either."</p>
<p>Thanatos's hands fit perfectly into his—the frigid touch of death held sweet against two palms that pulse with red-blooded life—and Zagreus runs his thumb along Thanatos's knuckles while Thanatos leans in to kiss him again. </p>
<p>When Thanatos pulls away, his expression is contemplative.</p>
<p>"Would you have stayed here," Thanatos asks him, "were you not tied to the Underworld?" The question is simple and weighty, and Zagreus looks at him, mouth pulling into a frown.</p>
<p>"I... don't know," he replies, after a moment. "And admittedly, it's not a question that I've given much thought. But I suppose... it's likely I would have stayed. My mother would certainly have welcomed me."</p>
<p>Thanatos nods, like it's the answer he expected, and Zagreus moves to intertwine their fingers. Thanatos looks back at him, before sliding his gaze off into the distance—looking again out towards the sea.</p>
<p>"It is selfish of me, perhaps, to be happy that you are tied to the House," Thanatos says, slowly, "but I admit that I couldn't help but be relieved when you told me, Zag. I'm not sure what I would have done, had you decided to leave me for good."</p>
<p>Zagreus squeezes slightly at Thanatos's hand, and when Thanatos turns back to him, his eyes are clear, glistening like molten gold. Zagreus thinks he could get lost in them, and there are times he wishes he would.</p>
<p>"For what it's worth," Zagreus says, finally, "I'm glad that things ended up how they did. I may not like the terms of my return, but it's allowed me to mend the bridge between Hades and my mother, and it's allowed me to figure things out with you. I've said it already, but I'm sorry for leaving the way I did. Since then, I've gotten better at recognizing my feelings—and I think you might have, too."</p>
<p>Thanatos smiles carefully, eyes going soft, and Zagreus grins back: sheepish, yet fond.</p>
<p>"I've figured out a lot of things, recently," Zagreus continues, "and for the first time... the House actually feels like a home. So I'm glad things ended up how they did. I can't imagine them happening any other way."</p>
<p>"Me neither," Thanatos admits, voice low. "And I'm glad things ended up the way that they did, too."</p>
<p>Zagreus leans forward to kiss him again, one hand lifting to brush against Thanatos's cheek, and Thanatos sighs into him—pulling him down and pressing bruises into Zagreus's lips.</p>
<p>They sit together for the remainder of the afternoon, sequestered in Persephone's garden outside of time. Thanatos helps Zagreus pick flowers for his mother as the sun reaches its peak in the sky, and Zagreus slowly (yet inevitably) feels his strength begin to fade. For the first time in so many escapes to the surface, Zagreus knows that it's <em>natural causes</em> that will finally do him in, and the thought brings him comfort.</p>
<p>Thanatos helps him back into the wrought-iron chair, and Zagreus sits, gazing out over the bright blue ocean that surrounds his mother's old home, as the familiar pain in his chest begins to take hold. His breath grows short, words growing weak, and if Thanatos is surprised by the sudden degression in his health, he surely doesn't look it.</p>
<p>He holds Zagreus's hand as the arms of the River Styx finally take their hold, and the last thing Zagreus remembers is watching Thanatos's face, filtered sunlight from beneath his mother's orchard casting gold across the dark of his dearly beloved's skin.</p>
<p>When Zagreus emerges from the Pool, red dripping from his hair, Thanatos is already back. His face is stoic as he stares at Zagreus from across the hall, yet Persephone's hair is adorned with a wreath of bright, preserved flowers that Zagreus himself had picked, and Zagreus lets himself smile.</p>
<p>His mother smiles back, and by the time Zagreus turns around again, Thanatos is already gone.</p>
<p>- -</p>
<p>They meet at the surface many times after that, whenever Thanatos can find the time to join him. And although Zagreus doesn't always pass peacefully (with bears still remaining as much of a threat as they always, inexplicably, were), he still finds himself dying of <em>natural causes </em>more often than not. </p>
<p>Perhaps it's due to Thanatos's influence, or perhaps not. Either way, however, instead of his mother's sad face watching him as he leaves, Zagreus contents himself with the image of Death himself: sitting across from him at a tiny, wrought-iron table, with his thin, careful hands wrapped tight around Zagreus's own.</p>
<p>And all in all—it isn't such a bad way to die.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I've played a lot of Hades within the past two weeks, and I find it absolutely distressing that you no longer die of "natural causes" after the credits roll. This fic was somewhat based on that, with zagthan thrown in because I simply cannot get the two of them out of my head. The BEARS ending is, however, frankly hilarious (and I got it pretty quickly after finishing the game).</p>
<p>Hope you enjoyed, and thanks so much for reading! You can find me as <a href="https://twitter.com/alainey_lee">@alainey_lee</a> on twitter.</p>
<p>EDIT 11/20: Please go look at <a href="https://twitter.com/arkadraws/status/1322497890674110464">this incredible art</a> by arkadraws over on twitter!!! Than and Zag are just so soft and I love the way they drew them here very much!!! &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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